Luminescent warning device



Feb. 15, 1944. G, MITTAG 2,342,005

LUMINESCENT WARNING DEVICE Filed June 17,1942.

INVENTOR 660% Matt ATTORNTY or vehicles, than b the bombs.

Patented Feb. 15, 1944 UNITED STATESv PATENT OFFICE LUMINESCENTWARNINGIDEVICE George Mittag, New York, .N.'.Y.

Application June'li, 1942, Serial No.447;'38'4 Claims. (crest-7:1.)

My invention relates 'to an improved luminescent device adapted to beworn by pedestrians and other persons during air raid blackouts, andwhich will provide a sufficientl luminous visual indication of thepresence of the wearers to prevent accidental collision with otherpersons during such periods, but which will not glow or reflect light toan extent such that it will give an indication of their presence toenemy aircraft which may be overheadat the time.

During blackoutperiods'there is grave danger of injury or death topedestrians, civilian'defense personnel, and others on the, streets orin buildings, by reason of accidental collisions, and it'has been theexperience in certain instances that during air raids more people wereinjured and killed due to collisions, either with pedestrians At thesame time, it is highly important that no light, either direct orreflected, be present which will guide, or give an indication to, enemybombers or other hostile aircraft in the vicinity.

vsuificient or not devised'to give the desired warning or indicationofthe'presence of'the'wearer of the device from different approachangles; the

special or complicated nature of the devices'has made them difiicult orinconvenient to keep or carry during periods when they were not requiredto be Worn; they were difiicult to put on quickly and properly during ablackout; they often interfered with the clothing or movements of thewearers, and usually were required to be of dif- "ferent sizescorresponding to the sizes of the wearers.

Among the objects ofthe invention are to obviate the foregoingdisadvantages of the prior de vices; to 'provide-a-more suitabl -warningdevice which has comparatively large luminescent surfaces so that thepresence of the-wearer, regard- "less ofhis size, will readilybe'discerned at 'a--* suflicient distance to avoid collision duringtotal blackout periods; the device makes the presence of thewearernoticeable at all angles of approach, either from the front orrear,'by"another person in the immediate vicinity; it needbe' madein butone size which can be worn by men, women and children of all sizesancl'ages; it is comfortable and convenient to carry or wear; it can beput on1quickly and easily even'in "the'dark and is fool-proof in the"mannerin which'it "maybe n put on or worn; it does not hed lightor'glow in a manner to make the wearer discerna-ble'by enemy aircraft;it is simple in construction and adapted to quantity production methodsand thus may be "furnished or-sold at-a low cost; it is light inweightand maybe worn with any kind of clothing and without interferingwiththemovements of the wearer; and the luminescent substance will not crackor'peel 'off, and therebythe device will retain its efficiency and havea long life.

Other objects'and advantages will be apparent from thefollowingdescription,takenin connection with the accompanying drawing,in which:

Fig. v1 is a front'view'of a pedestrian wearing a device :in accordancewith 'the in-vention;

, Fig. 2"is a rear view of the wearer and-the device'of'Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the device in an e 'Jtended position;

Fig. 4 shows certain details of the inner=c0nstruction of one of theluminescent pads OfEthG device;

Fig.5 is a fragmentary sectional view, taken 'alongthe line- 5-5- ofFig. 3; and

Fig. 6 is a detail of one method of construction of the edge 'portion ofthe pad.

Referring to Fig. 1 of the drawing, the invention is shown ascomprisinga'pad ofsheet l0 of'flexi-ble material, preferably reinforcedcloth, having the exposed outer surface l4 thereof impregnated or coatedwitha luminescent substance, for example, a paint which is commerciallyknown as phosphorescent paint, and .=which- -ex- 'hibits luminescence inthe dark. As sh0wn, the pad may be made sufliciently large in area-;sothat it substantially covers the chest of the wearer, or that portion-ofthe body'from just below the neck or shoulders down to and including thewaist. Fig. 2 show -asimilar-pad ll having a luminescent surfaceI5'which covers a substantial portion of the back of the wearer.

Inthe embodiment illustrated, the pads I0 and II are held in positionon'the chestand back of the wearer by meansof flexible straps l2 whichpass over and are supported bythe shoulders, the ends of the strap beingsecured in any suitable manner to the upper edges of the pads 10- andII. The size or area of the pads obviously-may be varied withinconsiderable limits, although pads having a longitudinal dimension ofeighteen inches and a transverse dimension of eleven inches have beenfound to be especially suitable, =-the length of the straps l2 beingapproximately eleven inches'between the-pads. In view :ofthe posedsurface of the material.

put on over the head of the wearer, even in the dark. Moreover, thedevice may be worn with any kind of clothing and without interferingwith the movements of the wearer, so that the device may be worn over ashirt or blouse, or over a topcoat, overcoat, raincoat, or other articleof cloth- 1 ing as the case may be. Preferably, each pad in and II has aluminescent surface on each side thereof, that is, the underside of thepad as viewed in the figures is luminescent to the same extent as theouter side, and the pads are therefore reversible both with respect tothe outer and undersides thereof, and with respect to the front and rearpositions of the pads when worn, and. thus the device is foolproof inthe manner in which it may be put on or worn.

Figures 3 to 6 show various details of the pads, the pads of the devicebeing shown in extended position in Fig. 3.

Figs. 4 to 6 show details of the construction of one of the pads, whichpreferably is composed of two identical sheets, each of which comprisesa woven cloth base, indicated at ll, to which the phosphorescent paintE4 or IE is applied to the obverse or exposed side thereof, and eachofthe cloth sheets I! has a glazed or non-absorbent surface coating I8 onthe reverse or inner side thereof. The advantage of having each sheetglazed with a non-absorbent surface i8 is that it prevents thephosphorescent paint from soaking into the sheet IT to an extent such asto reduce the luminescent effect of the surface it or I5, the glazedsurface i8 causing the luminous paint or substance to be retained in thewoven portion I! or near the outer exposed surface thereof so as to bemost effective in producing the luminescent glow.

Ordinary table oilcloth or thin linoleum provides a good base for eachof the two sheets comprising the pad, since such material comprises awoven layer readily adapted to retain the phosphorescent paint, thesurface 53 of hardened linseed oil and filler limiting the absorption ofthe luminescent paint by thewoven cloth so that it is retained at ornear the ex- Table oilcloth or thin linoleum thus treated also providesa pad which is flexible, and which can be rolled up so that it mayconveniently be carried at times when the device is not required to beworn. Moreover, the relatively open fibrous structure of the cloth basell prevents the luminescent paint or substance from cracking or peelingoff, and therefore the device will retain its efficiency and have a longlife. The two identical sheets of the pad of Fig. l are turned back toback and stitched around the edges, as indicated at 20, the straps l2being stitched between these layers, as indicated at 2i in Fig. 4. Thedevice above described also is waterproof and will exhibit the desireddegree of luminescence in wet or damp weather as well as in dry weather.The coating of luminescent paint preferably is made quite thin, and maybe applied by a brush, spraying, or other method generally in the mannerof application of any paint or stain.

Phosphorescent paint, after being activated by a short period ofexposure to a source of artificial or natural light, will glowsufliciently in the dark for a long period of time, for example, eighthours or longer. The pad need only be left lying in a room or otherplace in a position such that either natural or artificial light isadmitted thereto, and upon the occurrence of a blackout is instantlyavailable for use.

The device may be made very inexpensively and by mass productionmethods, and thus may be furnished or sold at low cost. Also, it is notnecessary to make a variety of different sizes of such a device, sincethe device shown will be found suitable for men, women and children ofdifferent sizes and ages.

While the device may be made to exhibit the desired luminescentproperties by means of a phosphorescent paint, it will be obvious thatother kinds of luminous paints may also be employed. For example,luminous paints composed of zinc sulphide or calcium sulphide, with orwithout an activating radioactive substance such as radium bromide,maybe used; also a paint composed of zinc beryllium silicate with anactivating substance may be used. The device exhibits a very noticeableglow in the dark, but does not reflect light to an appreciable extentand for this reason is not objectionable during blackout periods.

It will be understood that, if desired, only one of the pads may beemployed, although prefer ably and to insure greater safety both frontand back pads are worn. In the case where only one pad is employed, thestraps I2 or other suitable means may be so constructed as to besupported from the neck or other portion of the wearer or his clothes.The device is especially adapted for use during blackout periods, but isalso well adapted as a suitable warning device to be worn in the dark bypedestrians, bicyclists, or other persons in general, and substantiallyreduces or minimizes the hazard of injury to such persons by collisionwith cars or vehicles on the road on which they may be'traveling.

Various other modifications, forms and uses of the device will readilysuggest themselves to those versed in the art, without departing fromthe spirit of the present invention, and I do not desire to be limitedexcept as indicated by the scope of the appended claims;

I claim:

l. A luminescent warning device adapted to be worn by a person and toexhibit sufi'icient luminescence to give a visual warning of thepresence of the wearer in the dark, said device comprising ,a pad havingan outer exposed surface of sufficient area to cover substantially thechest of the wearer from just below the shoulders to and including thewaist, said exposed portion ofthe pad comprising a flexiblefibrous sheetwith the outer surface thereof forming a relatively open fibrousstructure, said outer surface having a thin coating of aluminescentpaint, and means for securing said pad in operative position on-thechest. of the wearer.

wearer from just below the shoulders to and including the waist, saidexposed portion of .the pad being composed of a flexible fibrous sheetwith the outer surface thereof formingarelatively open fibrousstructure, said outer surface having been impregnated with a luminescentpaint, the inner surface of the sheet having thereon a coating of anon-absorbent material to prevent undesired absorption of said paint,and flexible strap structure for engaging the body of the wearer tosecure said pad in operative position.

3. A luminescent warning device adapted to be worn by a person and toexhibit luminescence to give a visual warning of the presence of thewearer in the dark, said device comprising two pads having outer exposedsurface portions sufficient in area to cover substantially the chest andback, respectively, of the wearer, said exposed surface portions eachcomprising a flexible fibrous sheet with the outer surface thereofforming a relatively open fibrous structure, said outer surface having athin coating of a luminescent paint, and flexible straps securing saidpads together and spaced to receive the head and neck of the wearerbetween the straps and to rest on his shoulders for securing said padsin operative position.

4. A reversible luminescent warning device adapted to be worn by aperson and to exhibit sufiicient luminescence to give a visual warningof the presence of the wearer in the dark, said device comprising a padcomposed of two flexible fibrous sheets secured together in superposedposition, each exposed surface of the pad being of suflicient area tocover substantially the upper body portion of the wearer, each saidsheet having the fibrous outer surface thereof impregnated with aluminescent paint and each having the inner surface thereof impregnatedwith a non-absorbent material to prevent undesired absorption of saidpaint, and means for securing said pad in operative position on the bodyof the wearer.

5. A reversible luminescent warning device adapted to be worn by aperson and to exhibit sumcient luminescene to give a visual warning ofthe presence of the wearer in the dark, said device comprising a padhaving two woven cloth sheets secured together in superposed position sothat the opposed outer faces of the pad each comprises a wovenstructure, said outer faces being impregnated with a luminescent paint,the

inner faces of said sheets each having a glazed surface coating toprevent undesired absorption of said paint, and means for securing saidpad in operative position on the body of the wearer.

GEORGE MIT'IAG.

